45. There's No Crying in Baseball, But There Are Lesbians! Queer History of the AAGBPL

An episode Leigh has been dreaming of since the start of the pod is finally here! In this ep, Leigh is joined by guest host Frankie de la Cretaz, sports journalist, queer history buff, and certified Gaylor Swiftie, to discuss the queer history of women’s baseball & softball, in particular the story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, aka the inspiration behind A League of Their Own! We discuss all the extreme “no-homo”ing that was happening in the League’s rules and regulations, and all the YES HOMO-ing that happened in spite of it, making the sport into an important site of queer community. We also introduce you to the wonderful world of AAGBPL’s rival for women’s baseball at the time, the National Girls’ Baseball League, and the contrasts between the two leagues. 

Also, don’t forget to check out our bonus episode discussing A League of their Own, with co-creator Will Graham!

Outline

0:00 Introduction
5:26 Socio-Historic Context
12:12 The Leagues: AAGPBL
27:42 Why Do We Think They’re Gay?: Queerness and Women’s Sports
31:48-34:44 Word of the Week: Muscle Moll
34:44 Back to why do we think they’re gay
47:07 The Leagues: NGBL
53:19 Who Were They? Queer ball players of note
1:24:00 -1:24:53 Content Warning: Homophobic violence
1:27:50 Pop Culture Tie In
1:34:15 How Gay Were They?
1:39:50 Closing and Where to Find Us Online

For a full list of sources and bonus content, visit our Notes page! 

Apple Podcasts  |    Google Play    |    RadioPublic    |    Stitcher    |   Download

BONUS 0.18. Take Me Out to the Ball Gayme: Will Graham Talks A League of Their Own

Have you, like our dear host Leigh, gotten totally sucked into the amazing new Amazon Prime adaptation of A League of Their Own? Do you want to hear all about the show, its meticulous research into queer life of the 1940s and how the writers, producers, and cast opened up the scope of the movie to focus on the lives of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League’s queer players? Well then, hop in to this episode, where I’m joined by co-creator Will Graham to dive deep into A League of Their Own, early queer nightlife, the importance of representation both on and behind the camera, and what it means to be a young, queer kid who just wants to play ball and has finally found their team.

Where To Find Will Graham Online:

And for more info on A League of Their Own:

For a full list of sources and bonus content, visit our Notes page! 

Apple Podcasts  |    Google Play    |    RadioPublic    |    Stitcher    |  Download